Scattered
by Color With Marker
Summary: Kingdom Hearts isn't real. None of it really happened. But in Sora's mind, he's the Keyblade wielder, and Mickey Mouse is the king. His imaginary world soon tears apart the worlds of those who love him. An extremely dark one-shot.


Sora had always been a rather peculiar child. He wasn't as if he was a hermit or reclusive; in fact, he was quite popular among his peers from his preschool years on. He had his friends Riku and Kairi always by his side. The neighborhood kids, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie, would always play kickball with him or challenge him to friendly hopscotch contests. Teachers said he was much brighter than other kids in his grade, almost brilliant enough to skip a grade level or two. He had loving parents, three older brothers who were each nice to him – essentially, he had the perfect life.

It was assumed it started when Sora was two. Since all of his brothers went to school at the time, his mother would put on Mickey Mouse cartoons and put Sora in his playpen to watch while she did housework. The young brunet was transfixed by the colorful pictures on the screen. His delightful laughter rung throughout the house until one of his brothers would change the channel to watch their own shows. When they did, Sora turned his head away and paid attention to his neglected toys.

At age four, when he was finally old enough to read Dr. Seuss books and understand the digital clock in the kitchen, he was given Disney movies on tape. His family thought he'd enjoy them as much as he loved Mickey. Sora didn't just enjoy them; there wasn't a single day when he wasn't pulling at the pant leg of his siblings or parents, begging them to put one of the tapes in the VCR so he could watch them. He barely minded that most movies were about princesses falling in love.

One day, while chanting, "This is Halloween!" and marching through the kitchen, his eldest brother, Vanitas, nearly snapped.

"Shut up!" he screeched. "I can't do my fractions while you sing!"

The blond twins sitting at the table both yanked their thumbs from their mouths, scandalized at their brother's language. "I'm telling Mommy you said the 's' word!" one of the twins, Ventus, cried.

"No you won't! You're too a-scared to!" Vanitas shot back. Ventus' eyes widened and he stared at the floor. His thumb was put back in his mouth. The other twin, Roxas, held his tongue.

"I'm Jack, the pumpkin king!" Sora declared.

"You're a dummy!"

"That's enough out of you, Vanitas," the boys' mother, Tifa, scolded as she entered the kitchen. "One more mean word and no dessert for you." Vanitas pouted before returning to his homework. Tifa turned to face Sora. "Sora, could you use your inside voice please?"

Sora thought this over. "But I'm the pumpkin king," he said.

"Yes, but even the pumpkin king needs to use his inside voice."

"… Okay, Mommy."

* * *

At age five, he would invite friends over to watch movies with him. None of them frequented more than Kairi, the mayor's daughter, and Riku, the son of an old family friend. While Riku was more mature and into the same things as most other boys (kicking a ball, climbing trees, etc.), Kairi never minded watching a movie with Sora. In fact, there were times when the two sang along. The trio would act out scenes from movies. Sora was the prince, Kairi was the princess, and Riku was the bad guy.

On Kairi's birthday, Sora came to school with a plastic tiara and placed it on her head.

"It's so pwetty!" Kairi exclaimed. "Thanks, Sowa!"

"Now everyone will know you're a princess like Belle and Ariel!" Sora said. Riku, who wasn't for girly things, just grunted and drew a picture of a star for Kairi. He was good at drawing stars.

When he was seven, his family became a little concerned. Sora's lifelong obsession with Disney had yet to fade by this point, and in fact had grown stronger. He would always drag around a Mickey Mouse doll and go as far as to call him "King Mickey".

"But Mickey isn't the king," Ventus would point out.

"I say he is, so he is!" Sora would retort. Ventus had already given up long ago.

"Someone tell goo-for-brains that he needs to grow up already," Vanitas would chime in. "Get him some Matchbox cars or something other than dolls."

"Oh, Vanitas," Tifa would say, "let Sora enjoy himself. Just because you three weren't like that doesn't mean he can't be."

"But Mom, it's weird! And all the kids at school make fun of him for it too!" Roxas would cry.

"Nuh uh!" Sora would say. "Kairi and Riku don't care."

"Yeah, for now."

"That's enough, boys!" their father, Cloud, boomed. All four boys kept their mouths shut, even though Roxas hadn't said a word.

If you looked through the family photo album, each Halloween, Sora and Kairi were a Disney couple: Aladdin and Jasmine, Eric and Ariel, Tarzan and Jane, Mickey and Minnie, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell, etc., while Sora's brothers and Riku wore costumes such as Power Rangers, pirates, or ninjas. Even in middle school, Sora refused to be something else. When he was twelve, he ended up throwing a tantrum while looking for costumes with Riku and Kairi.

"Sora, Kairi and me wanna do something different," Riku said. In his hands was a punk rock costume and wig, while Kairi held a matching set of her own. The two had their hearts set on them. Sora, however, didn't.

"But Kairi, we're _never_ punk rock stars for Halloween," Sora whined.

Kairi bit her lip, struggling to find the right words. "Sora, maybe this year we could be a little more open to other options," she said calmly. "We can still pretend to be a couple if you'd like. Would that make you feel better?"

That Halloween, Sora sat at home passing out candy and taking the ones his brothers didn't want.

* * *

At thirteen, Kairi and Riku had branched out a little more. Riku started training so he could join sports teams in high school, and Kairi did more girly activities with Selphie. Sora would often find himself home without anything better to do. Tidus and Wakka had stopped talking to him a while ago. He tried begging his brothers to play with him. Roxas usually had Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Vanitas and Ventus did their best to leave the house before Sora had a chance to reach them. That November, he wanted to watch _Fantasia_ with someone, but, as usual, Kairi and Riku weren't around. He tried Vanitas first.

"Van?" he asked while rasping on the eldest brother's bedroom door.

"Uh-huh-wha-Sora!" he heard Vanitas shout. "What do you want?"

"Can I come in?"

"_NO!_" A few grunts were heard, followed by a rude, "Fuck off!" Little innocent Sora had no idea what his brother was doing on the other side of the door. He ignored it and tried Ventus. Ven had his two older high school friends Terra and Aqua over, and the three of them were working on a project together.

"Ven?" Sora asked.

"Hmm?" the blond replied.

"I wanna watch _Fantasia_."

"So?"

"Can you watch it with me?"

Ventus groaned and stood up, shaking glitter off of his khakis. "Look, Sora, you're thirteen. You've seen _Fantasia_ a million times. Watching it alone won't make it any different than watching it with me."

"But… but – "

"Sora, I'm sorry, but I can't. I'm in the middle of something!" He gestured to his friends. Terra didn't look up from his laptop screen, his fingers flying across the keyboard. Aqua gave Sora an apologetic glance before drawing an articulate outline on a bright green poster board. Sora groaned and stormed into Roxas' room.

"Roxas!" he cried.

"What?!" Roxas snapped, his eyes glued to the television screen in his room. Three boys who Sora had never seen before were sitting either on the bed or on the floor, none of them paying any attention to Sora either.

"Who're they?" the brunet asked.

Roxas sighed and paused the movie they were watching. His friends all groaned in frustration at the pesky little brother. "Axel, Demyx, Zexion, meet my brother. Sora, these are my friends, and that's the door."

"Does Mom know they're here?" Sora asked, warily eying Axel's hand resting on Roxas' hip, slowly slipping toward the blond's crotch, and Zexion's position on Demyx's lap.

"Why are you bothering us, Sora?" Roxas demanded.

"I wanna watch a movie."

"Come watch _Pulp Fiction_ with us then!" Axel suggested. Roxas frowned and moved Axel's hand from him.

"Can't you watch one with Kairi or Riku, or someone else?" he sighed.

Sora's eyes began tearing up. "But Kairi is with Selphie, and Ri-ku is practicing with Wakka, and Vanitas won't let me in his room, and Ven is doing a project, and you're the only one I have left, and I don't wanna watch _Fantasia_ alone!" Tears fell freely. Roxas, Axel, and Zexion stared in shock. Demyx seemed sad for the boy.

"Maybe we should hang out with your little bro," the other blond suggested. "He's so lonely."

Zexion's arms and legs wrapped themselves around Demyx. He didn't speak, but his body language said enough.

"Dude, your brother it a freak," Axel whispered to Roxas.

"Sora, leave," Roxas ordered. Sora let out a sob and locked himself in his bedroom until dinner.

* * *

The three eldest brothers sat around Ventus' room after their company had left, worried looks on each of their faces.

"Something's really wrong with him," Ventus said. "I thought this was just some phase, but it's getting really out of hand."

"Tell me about it," Vanitas added. "I can't bring anyone over because he freaks them out too much."

"You should've seen how dejected he looked. Demyx chastised me for being a bad older brother when he ran out of my room bawling his eyes out," Roxas said.

"He tried walking in on me while I jacking off."

"He walked in while my boyfriend was trying to molest me and two of my other friends were all over each other on the floor. He kept on staring at us too. Like he didn't understand."

"Of course he doesn't. He thinks that kissing is for princesses in those stupid movies of his. Wait until he has Sex Ed."

"You guys are straying from the matter at hand," Ventus interrupted. "We need to try to help Sora. If we don't, he may never grow out of this. We might be his only hope."

Roxas and Vanitas nodded. They knew Ven was right.

"So… what do we do?" Vanitas asked.

The three pondered for a minute before Roxas said, "I have an idea."

* * *

Downstairs, Tifa sat at the kitchen table, head in her hands, absorbing what her husband had just suggested. _The nerve…_

"How dare you," she hissed. "My son is not crazy!"

"He's my son too, Tifa," Cloud reminded her. "And you know just as well as I do that something is wrong with Sora."

"He is a normal boy!"

"He's far from it. And you're denial isn't helping him."

"Bastard!" Tifa stood up and pounded her fists against Cloud's chest. "You bastard!"

"Tifa, you need to accept that something is wrong with him," Cloud said, not reacting to his wife beating him.

"Never!"

"Tifa!"

"No! Stop!"

"Tifa, don't lie to yourself!"

"Sora's not crazy!"

"Yes he is!"

"Stop saying such things about my son!"

"Fine then!" Cloud backed away from Tifa. He grabbed his wallet and car keys. "If you need me, I'll be at Zack's place."

As the front door slammed shut, Tifa collapsed on the floor and cried into her knees.

"…Mom?"

She looked up to see Sora rubbing his eyes. He had a slightly worried look on his face.

"Why were you and Dad yelling?" he asked sleepily.

"Nothing, sweetheart," Tifa lied. She stood up and gathered her son in her arms. "Nothing is wrong."

"But he left…"

"We just had a difference in opinions, that's all. Let's get you back to bed." She hoisted Sora into her arms and carried him back to bed. She tried not to react to his pajamas, which were decorated with Mickey Mouse's face.

* * *

A few blocks over, Kairi had snuck over to Riku's for the night. The two were laying on the bed, their minds on the same subject.

"Kairi, I think we should go through with this," Riku whispered.

"Why?" his friend responded. "So we can shatter his heart? He'll hate us forever if we do."

"It's for his benefit. He needs help. Besides, we've been friends way too long for Sora to just drop us like that. In the future, I know he'll thank us."

Kairi hugged Riku close, burying her face in his chest. She listened to the soothing sound of his heartbeats while his fingers toyed with her short crimson locks. "I never thought it'd get this bad," she sighed. "When we were younger it was cute, but now…"

"It's creepy," Riku finished.

"Yeah."

"If anything, we're the two people he'll listen to. We would never let him live like this if he knew we want to help him."

"And what if it doesn't work?"

Riku didn't want to know the answer to her question. Only time would tell.

* * *

On the last day of school, Sora spent the day hugging friends who he wouldn't see for a few months, signing yearbooks or articles of clothing, and throwing away old papers in his locker. Come September, he will be a _freshman_ in _high school!_ What kid didn't look forward to that? He skipped the bus on purpose just so he could walk home and enjoy the beautiful June weather.

When he walked through the front door, he was surprised to see his parents, brothers, and Riku and Kairi sitting around the living room, all eyes on him.

"Why didn't you guys tell me you were coming here?" Sora asked as he shut the door. "We could've walked together."

"Sora, come have a seat," Tifa said, smiling weakly. Sora threw his backpack on the floor and slid off his sneakers before plopping on the couch between Ventus and Roxas. Roxas immediately took his hand.

"What's going on?" Sora asked.

"You know we all love you, right?" Kairi began. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Yeah…? What's that got to do with anything?"

"Well, we want to talk about… er…"

"Alright, I'm done beating around the bush here," Vanitas cut in from the other side of the room. "Sora, you're nearly fourteen. This Disney obsession of yours is done with."

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"Sora, you need to move past these things," Riku said. "The movies, the costumes, everything… it all needs to stop here."

No. They weren't. They _couldn't_. Sora began to panic. No one was speaking out in his defense. They… they all wanted this? How could they?! Sora tried running, but Roxas' grip on him tightened.

"There's nothing wrong with it," Sora said weakly.

"Sora, this ends now," Cloud said. "You need to go upstairs, get all of your Disney-related paraphernalia, and toss it out for trash day tomorrow – "

"NO!"

Sora yanked his hand free and tripped over himself trying to escape the room. He ignored his mother and Kairi's pleas and flew out the front door. He made it halfway across the yard before Riku tackled him and had him pinned to the ground. Sora thrashed violently, but his friend was much stronger than he was. He ended up falling apart under Riku. He felt the two hands move from his wrists and pull him against a strong chest, which he cried into. Roxas sat next to them, rubbing his brother's back and whispering soothing words in his ear. The others watched the scene in shock. None of them expected the situation to turn out this sour.

* * *

Sora caved. Riku and Kairi helped him throw all of his Disney belongings into several large white garbage bags. Dolls, clothes, VHS tapes, CDs, posters, everything. He barely had anything left in him room afterwards. No bed sheets, no decorations, half of his wardrobe. All of it sitting at the curb. In the morning, it took all three brothers to hold him down when the garbage truck came around and threw the treasures into the back of the truck.

Over the summer, everyone took turns helping Sora coax with his loss. Riku played sports and video games with him. Vanitas helped him get ready for high school, since he was going into his junior year. Ventus and Roxas let their younger brother hang around their separate groups of friends. Once, Hayner, Pence, and Olette came over and brought Sora out on their own. (Secretly, he liked them better than Roxas' newer group of friends. They were too handsy around each other.) Kairi tried pushing Sora into the dating world by setting him up with the girls she knew. Cloud scored tickets to various sporting events and took Sora with him. Tifa did her best to be supportive. Sora knew all of their hearts were in the right place, so he went along with it.

Pretending he was happy worked – until a few days after his fourteenth birthday, a month before school started.

* * *

"_You know, Riku has changed."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Well…"_

"_You okay?"_

"_Sora! Let's take the raft and go – just the two of us!"_

"_Huh?"_

"_Just kidding!"_

"_What's gotten into you? You're the one that's changed, Kairi."_

"_Maybe… You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I'll always come back here. Right?"_

"_Yeah, of course."_

"_That's good. Sora, don't ever change."_

"_Huh?"_

"_I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great."_

Sora woke up with a jolt. What was that all about? Where was he and Kairi going to? Unsure of how to feel, he grabbed his phone and dialed Kairi's number.

"…_Sora?_" she answered groggily. "_It's five in the morning. Is everything alright?_"

"What did you mean?" he demanded.

"_Mean about what, exactly?_"

"When you told me that Ri-ku had changed. What about him changed?"

"_Sora, it's too early to be playing mind games with me._"

"But in my dream, you said that he changed, and then you told me not to change! I need to know why!"

"_Sora, it was just a dream. Please, go back to sleep, and let me try too."_ With that, Kairi hung up. Sora sighed and put his phone down. Rather than wrack his brain trying to find the answers to his questions, he lied back down and tried sleeping again.

* * *

His dreams didn't end there. They continued, as if they were a developed plotline. Kairi and Riku weren't the only ones there either. Donald Duck and Goofy were too, calling him a "keyblade wielder" – whatever that was. His parents and his friends were there too, but not his brothers. The dreams wouldn't leave him alone. He tried keeping it a secret; had anyone else reacted poorly like Kairi (despite it being early in the morning during that instance), they would've called him crazy.

So he wrote his dreams down.

A new journal that had been sitting on his desk collecting dust soon was halfway filled with drawings and stories of what had happened to him in his dreams. Fighting Ursula from _The Little Mermaid_ and Jafar from _Aladdin_, defeating little black creatures he'd dubbed "heartless", and trying to figure out the conflicts among his friendship with Riku and Kairi were among them. Sketches of different-shaped keys gathered in the corners and margins. Donald Duck and Goofy were the ones who came up the most in dreams – they were in each one.

But what did they mean?

* * *

A few months later, when Roxas was hanging out with his friends, Sora nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of Axel and Zexion. Demyx had noticed.

"Hey, little dude, you alright?" he asked. Sora paled and backed against the wall. "Rox, I think something's wrong with him."

"Sora, what're you doing?" Roxas asked, tearing his eyes from the board game his friends were playing. "Is everything okay? You look like you're gonna puke."

Sora shakily pointed a finger at the redhead, who raised an eyebrow in return. "What?" he asked.

"You monster," Sora hissed.

"Huh?"

Sora suddenly tackled Axel. He pinned the older boy to the floor and started punching him pathetically. "You monster!" he screamed. "How could you? They did nothing to you and you – you murderer!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Axel exclaimed. "I didn't kill anyone!"

"I watched you kill Vexen with my own eyes! Then you sent the Replica to finish of Zexion! Don't lie your way out of this, you murderer!" Roxas and Demyx pried the two boys apart. Sora flailed in the taller blond's arms while Roxas made sure Axel wasn't bleeding. Only a few bruises were on the redhead's face.

"I didn't kill Zexion!" Axel cried. "He's sitting right there!" He gestured to the dark-haired boy, who was too stunned to react to the scene Sora had caused.

"But-but-but…" Sora stopped squirming, too shocked to say anything. "You hurt him… real bad too. He pretended to be me, and Ri-ku…"

"Sora, you need to go to your room and calm down," Roxas warned. "I know you've been on edge lately, but attacking my friends isn't going to solve your problems." Defeated, Sora slumped back to his room.

"What's wrong with your brother?" Demyx asked.

"And why did he assume Axel murdered our science teacher and me?" Zexion added.

"I have no idea," Roxas answered.

Meanwhile, in his room, Sora used a large black crayon to write on his walls:

_**A SCATTERED DREAM THAT'S LIKE A FAR-OFF MEMORY.**_  
_**A FAR-OFF MEMORY THAT'S LIKE A SCATTERED DREAM.**_  
_**I WANNA LINE THE PIECES UP – YOURS AND MINE.**_

* * *

"_You're… fading away…"_

"_Well, that's what happens when you put your whole being into an attack. Not that Nobodies actually _have_ beings… right? Anyway, I digress. Go find Kairi. Oh, almost forgot… Sorry for what I did to her."_

"_When we find her, you can tell her that yourself."_

"_Think I'll pass. My heart just wouldn't be in it, you know? Haven't got one."_

"_Axel, what were you trying to do?"_

"_I wanted to see Roxas. He… was the only one I liked… He made me feel… Like I had a heart. It's kind of… funny. You make me feel… the same... Kairi's in the castle dungeon. Now go."_

"_Axel..."_

"I understand."

Roxas, Axel, Demyx, and Zexion all looked behind them to see Sora standing in the doorway, his gaze fixed on Axel. Each of Roxas' friends looked uneasy; Sora had avoided them for months after he attacked Axel.

"Understand what?" Roxas asked.

"When Axel tried to turn me back into a Nobody," Sora answered. He turned his attention to a nervous Axel. "You weren't doing it because you were ordered to. You did it because you just wanted Roxas back."

"Something's seriously messed up with you, kid," Axel said.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about! You even kidnapped Kairi so I'd have to fight you! But in the end, you saved me and my friends." He walked across the room and hugged the stunned redhead. "Thank you." He slipped out of the room before the others reacted, pausing to tell his brother, "And I think you make a great Other, too."

Axel turned to Roxas. "What the fuck is wrong with your family?"

"My family?" Roxas spluttered.

"Why is it every time I come over here, shit just gets weirder and weirder? What have I ever done to deserve this?"

"It isn't my entire family! I already told you that my little brother isn't all there! Don't get pissed because he's got some weird thing for you!"

"Look, if this is how our relationship is going to be from now on, maybe things would be easier if we didn't have one at all!" With that, Axel grabbed his phone and keys before storming out of the room.

"…I think you guys should go home," Roxas told his friends. "I need to talk to Ven and Van about something."

"Understood. See you this weekend," Zexion said, leading Demyx to the front door. Roxas sat on his bed and put his head in his hands, willing himself not to cry. He didn't know which was more frustrating - almost losing Axel because of Sora, or how out of hand Sora had become.

What the hell was happening to his baby brother?

* * *

"Okay, while Sora was in the shower, I stole that journal of his he always totes around and hides from us," Vanitas began as the three oldest Strife brothers sat around Ventus' bedroom.

"You know he's gonna freak out when he finds out it's missing," Ventus warned.

"That's the least of our worries at this moment. Right now, we need to figure out why Sora's gone bonkers." Vanitas put the notebook down and opened it to a random page. On it, a drawing of a black creature with two long antennas stood amongst a Donald Duck, Goofy, and what they decided must've been Kairi.

"I thought his Disney phase finally faded out," Ventus whispered in shock.

"I'm not sure if this is all Disney-related," Roxas said. At his brothers' confused expressions, he explained, "He's been acting really strange around my friends. One day he attacked Axel and called him a murder. A few hours ago, he hugged Axel and said something about trying to bring me back from somewhere. He called me 'a great Other' too. I-I don't know what he even means by that! And if he doesn't stop, Axel's going to leave me."

Vanitas continued leafing through the journal, his eyes scanning words and pictures as he went along. He gulped. "This is far from just being Disney-related," he said. "I think something might be really wrong with him."

The three eldest Strife brothers agreed that their parents didn't need to know about their son's slipping mental state right away, considering how much it has been affecting their marriage. Instead, they had Roxas take Sora out for the day so Ventus and Vanitas could explain the situation to Kairi and Riku. The two friends were initially shocked, as was expected, but in the end they also thought it'd be best to take action, after telling Tifa and Cloud so they could call a few places in order to find a nice area for Sora to stay.

That afternoon, Riku and Kairi sat on Sora's bed, observing the writings on the wall, each scribbled in black crayon:

_**A SCATTERED DREAM THAT'S LIKE A FAR-OFF MEMORY.**_  
_**A FAR-OFF MEMORY THAT'S LIKE A SCATTERED DREAM.**_  
_**I WANNA LINE THE PIECES UP – YOURS AND MINE.**_

_**I'VE BEEN HAVING THESE WEIRD THOUGHTS LATELY.**_  
_**LIKE, IS ANY OF THIS FOR REAL**_  
_**OR NOT?**_

_**HOW CAN I BE ANYONE BESIDES ME?**_

_**THINKING OF YOU, WHEREVER YOU ARE.**_  
_**WE PRAY FOR OUR SORROWS TO END,**_  
_**AND HOPE THAT OUR HEARTS WILL BLEND.**_  
_**NOW I WILL STEP FORWARD TO REALIZE THIS WISH.**_  
_**AND WHO KNOWS:**_  
_**STARTING A NEW JOURNEY MAY NOT BE SO HARD,**_  
_**OR MAYBE IT HAS ALREADY BEGUN.**_  
_**THERE ARE MANY WORLDS,**_  
_**BUT THEY SHARE THE SAME SKY -**_  
_**ONE SKY, ONE DESTINY.**_

_**MAYBE YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO YOUR HEART.**_

And that wasn't all. Several keys, each one significantly different from the rest, were drawn on the walls or ceiling, along with a few little black creatures and symbols that slightly resembled hearts. Needless to say, this concerned Riku and Kairi.

"We haven't come in here in so long," Riku said quietly. "We thought bringing him away from his room would help him."

"We didn't know," Kairi said. "But now I wish we had... Oh, gosh, this isn't our fault, is it?"

"This isn't us. This is something with Sora."

* * *

It was the last day of school, again. Amongst the group, it was agreed that Riku should be the one to lure Sora home, where the family would be waiting with friends and a therapist. The plan was to convince Sora to pack a bag and go to a great therapist not to far from his home, so everyone could come and visit him. Roxas, Ventus, and Vanitas wished him the best of luck. Cloud thanked him with a tone of sincerity he'd never used before. Tifa was teary-eyed as she hugged her youngest son's best friend, who had been like a fifth son to her. Kairi gave him a kiss for good luck. Everyone knew he'd need it.

Once the final bell rang, Riku waited for Sora outside the school doors. They were going to walk home together, while everyone else found rides of their own to the Strife house so they could beat the two boys. Sora seemed so cheerful and unphased, it pained Riku. This was an act of betrayal. He was about to tear their friendship apart. But it was to save Sora. As long as he was better in the end, then maybe, just maybe, this would be worth it.

"I can't believe we're going to have two months of _no school!_" Sora cheered.

Riku chuckled. "You say that after the end of every school year," he reminded his friend.

"And every time, I'm glad we don't have to do any homework or projects or essays during the summer." Sora jumped up and down. "Maybe we can go to the docks with Kairi later! We'll race. This time, when I win, _I'll_ share the paopu with her."

The older boy knew not to ask about the paopu, whatever it was. "Sure thing, Sora," he said, forcing the tears to not fall from his eyes. "But I'll beat you."

"You always do! But I'll win this time, I swear!"

_But will you, Sora? Will any of us win?_

"Ri-ku?" Sora stopped and forced Riku to as well. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Well... aw, I'm really embarrassed now. I don't know how to say this."

Riku froze. He knew exactly where this conversation was leading. He'd gone through the same thing with Kairi during winter break. They both were shy, red-faced, and beyond humiliated. Sora had the same look in his eyes as Kairi did.

Soon, a pair a soft lips were pressed to his. Sora's eyes were shut tight, the smaller boy standing on his toes to reach, his arms pressed to his side. Riku didn't kiss back. He didn't have the heart to pretend. This wasn't the same as Kairi. Sora and Kairi weren't close to the same.

"I love you, Ri-ku," Sora whispered as he pulled away slowly. Their lips grazed slightly as he talked. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Sora," Riku whispered back, his voice wavering. He needed to get Sora home _now_. "Bet I'll beat you to your house."

"It's on!" Sora took off, barely noticing that Riku hadn't moved yet. He needed a few seconds to compose himself and remember that these were the last few moment he'd have with his best friend.

* * *

This time, the group was much larger. Of course, all the Strifes were present. Close family friends Zack and Aerith Fair were there, along with Vincent Valentine, Yuffie Kisaragi, Barret Wallace, Cid Highwind, and even Squall Leonheart, an old family friend. Terra and Aqua showed up for Ventus, despite his warnings of the possible disaster that could strike. Zexion and Demyx came to support Roxas; after much convincing, and later bribing, Axel tagged along. (Axel and Roxas have been struggling to support a decent relationship. Kairi suggested that after today, things would become less hectic, and smiled to herself when Roxas sat on Axel's lap and laid his head against the other's shoulder.) Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, Hayner, Pence, and Olette came, too. Kairi stood at the window with Ventus, having been tasked with warning the family when Sora and Riku came up the driveway. In the center of the room sat the man who knew how to help the breaking family: Dr. Ansem Wise.

"I can assure you that we'll have the best treatments available for your son," he said, smiling faintly. "We've seen several others with conditions like Sora's. It's nothing new to us. He'll be safe with us."

"I appreciate what you're doing for our family," Tifa said. She was twisting her wedding band around her finger, a nervous habit she'd picked up in the recent years.

"As a warning, Sora's reaction may not be..." Cloud couldn't finish the sentence.

"Last time we tried an intervention, he was tackled in the front yard by his best friend," Vanitas said, ignoring his parents' glares. "It's safe to say that he's very touchy about his obsession."

"'Touchy' my ass," Axel snorted. "Did you tell them how he tried to kill me because he thought I went on a murdering spree?"

"Axel, you're not helping," Zexion scolded.

"No, it's good that you speak up now," Dr. Wise said. "I need a good idea of what to tell our doctors and nurses ahead of time. It'd help us to know how to approach him."

"He's here," Ventus announced. All heads turned to look out the window. Sure enough, there was Sora, hand-in-hand with Riku, skipping and smiling. Everyone inside felt their hearts break.

"I'll greet him," Squall volunteered. "He hasn't seen me in a while. Maybe I can keep him smiling for a bit longer."

"Thanks, Squall," Tifa said. Squall nodded and walked up to the front door and opened it just as the boys reached it.

"Leon!" Sora cried, using a nickname that very few people dared to say. He jumped onto the older man, nearly knocking him over. Riku just waved and locked the door behind him.

"God, Sora, you just get bigger every time I visit," Squall replied.

"Yeah, Leon! I haven't seen you since Hollow Bastion!"

Everyone shifted and glanced at each other at the mention of one of Sora's worlds. Squall played it off and said, "Really? Has it been that long?"

"Yeah! Remember, you and Cloud were..." Sora finally noticed his company. "Hey, look, everybody's here!"

"Hey there, short stuff!" Yuffie greeted cheerfully. "Why don't you come on in and take a seat!"

"Okay!" Sora grabbed Riku's hand again and dragged him to two empty kitchen chairs set in the living room. Riku shot Kairi an apologetic look, and it didn't take her long to put two and two together.

"Let's start with an introduction," Dr. Wise began. "Hello, Sora. My name is Ansem."

"Hi, Ansem!" Sora greeted. "Are you another family friend? I don't remember you."

"Well, I'm a new friend of sorts. I'm here, along with the rest of your friends and family, so we can talk about something with you." Dr. Wise thought for a few seconds before asking, "Do you like going on field trips and vacations?"

"Yeah! We always go to the beach in the summer!" Sora was bouncing in his chair. "I was hoping that one year we could finally go to Disney and meet King Mickey in person! Maybe I could bring my new friends with me!"

"Who are your new friends? Are they here?" Dr. Wise ignored the confused looks from everyone, namely Kairi and Riku.

"Well, technically, no one else knows that they exist. Everyone forgot about them."

"Oh, like imaginary friends?"

"Not really, 'cause Naminé was real before she went away."

At this, Tifa and Cloud gasped. Dr. Wise turned to them. "Does the name Naminé mean something to you?"

When it was clear that neither parent was able to speak up, Aerith did so. "Ventus and Roxas weren't originally twins. They were a triplet, with the second child being a girl. She was a stillborn. Her name was going to be Naminé."

"We had a sister?" Roxas cried. Ventus and Vanitas were both shocked.

"Naminé looks just like Roxas, too!" Sora continued animatedly. "She had shiny blonde hair, and really pretty blue eyes! She was a good drawer!" Tifa let out a loud sob.

"Artist," Riku corrected quietly.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Sora asked, his smile falling. "Why are you crying?"

"Dr. Wise," Cloud choked out, "please, don't procrastinate this any longer."

"If you insist," Dr. Wise said. "Sora, your family and friends are all very concerned. They say that you've been hiding from them about another world of yours, and that sometimes it makes you act out."

"Well, I didn't mean to hurt them," Sora said.

"'Hurt them'? Did you hurt anyone, Sora?"

"Well, I hurt a bunch of Heartless and Nobodies. And then there's the Organization. I killed most of them, but Riku helped."

"Wait, what?!" Riku spluttered.

"Don't you remember, Ri-ku? You and I killed Xemnas together!"

"Are you saying that you killed our principal?!" Riku pulled his hand away from Sora's and jumped away. "What is wrong with you?"

"I didn't mean to! But he was going to destroy our world if one of us didn't do it, and you were wounded! What was I supposed to do?"

"Maybe we should get back to the big picture..." Dr. Wise began.

"Sora, this is crazy!" Riku continued, ignoring the doctor. "_You're_ crazy! This thing, this other world of yours, it'd too much!"

"What?" Sora asked weakly. "But Ri-ku..." His voice was lost when Riku walked over to Kairi and took her hand in his.

"Sora, I wasn't lying when I said I loved you," Riku said. "I just don't love you the same way you love me."

"Ri-ku..."

"And if you love me, you'll get help."

Those last three words changed everything. Sora was no longer on the verge of tears and hysteria. The sorrow in his blue eyes turned stoic, cold, even dangerous. Everything clicked in his head. Why all of his brothers' friends were here. Why family friends he was lucky to see on birthdays and holidays were here. Why there was a doctor - no, wait, a _psychologist_ - sitting in the middle of the room.

This wasn't like before, when he was forced to destroy his treasures. No, not even close. They weren't throwing away his belongings. They were throwing away _him_. His family no longer wanted him around. They needed to extract the poison to make the family portrait perfect again.

_How dare they_.

"You guys want to lock me up," he said quietly. The tension grew with every word he spoke. "You want to put me in a straitjacket and lock me in a padded room, throw away the key, and forget all about me."

"Sora..." Tifa whimpered. "Baby, it's not like that."

"You finally had enough with me." He pointed a finger at all of them. "You think I'm crazy, don't you? Think I'm unstable?"

"Damn it, Sora, we know about the journal!" Vanitas exclaimed. He held up Sora's journal, striking his baby brother silent. "We've known about this for a while now. We know all about 'Kingdom Hearts', but it's not a real place. None of this is real! Yes, the people you put in there may exist in real life, but there's no King Mickey, there's no Organization or Heartless or Nobodies, and you're not the Keyblade wielder!" He slammed it down on the floor, making Aerith jump. "The jig is up! No more fooling us! You didn't get better last summer. You're worse than before!"

It was ages before anyone dare to react to Vanitas' outburst. Riku held Kairi, Cloud held Tifa, and Zack held Aerith. Roxas was curled up on Axel's lap, crying softly while the redhead whispered soothing words in his ear. The friends he thought he had were bewildered by the whole situation. Everything was shattering before him.

Sora ran upstairs. Still, no one said a word. They heard him throwing things around his bedroom. They only wondered what he was doing.

Then he showed off what appeared to be a large key, nearly three-fourths his size, which he held in an offensive stance. The men (especially Cid, Barret, and Squall, being the largest men in the room) readied themselves for a possible attack.

"I am too the Keyblade wielder," Sora announced. "See? I have a Kingdom Key. I made it myself when I wasn't able to summon it anymore. It's not metal anymore, but wood isn't all that bad."

"Sora, I need you to put the weapon down," Dr. Wise said calmly, the only person in the room who wasn't ready to lose their composure. "This doesn't need to get any worse than it already is."

For a second, Sora believed him. After all, this _was_ Ansem the Wise (to him, at least). He was DiZ. How could Sora not trust him?

In the corner of his eye, he saw Barret moving in on him. Then he started swinging.

* * *

The battle that ensued lasted nearly ten minutes.

First to go down was Barret. His right wrist was shattered completely, rendering it useless. After realizing that they lacked the ability to fix it, Barret had it amputated and replaced with a prosthetic.

Cid and Squall worked together, in hopes of doubling their strength. Cid now had five fewer teeth, and Squall donned a long scar, the center of it crossing the bridge of his nose.

Zack was only hit twice, and didn't regain consciousness for several hours. Aerith was the one who dragged him out of the room, with the help of Tifa, before calling 9-1-1, and insisting that they send at least five ambulances.

Tidus, Wakka, Hayner, and Pence, all being bigger than Sora, tried next. All had concussions that ruined their vision and made their effectiveness in battle nil, and Wakka left the short-lived fight with a broken ankle.

After having Ventus and Aqua carry the extremely emotional Roxas out of the room, Axel was able to tag-team with Demyx, Terra, and Zexion against Sora. Of course, by now they'd realized that going in weaponless was what was wrong with their plans, but they didn't want to use anything of the Strifes. But once Zexion went down and Demyx tried to keep his boyfriend safe, Terra and Axel grabbed two nearby candlesticks and used them as makeshift swords. They both had their forearms broken. Zexion had hit his head on the glass coffee table and was bleeding profusely. He was in a coma for three days. Demyx was barely hurt, but wasn't emotionally strong enough to continue fighting.

Vanitas had snuck away and grabbed his metal baseball bat from his room, and after sneaking up on Sora, was able to snap the giant key in half, leaving Sora with a splintered piece of wood. Those who were left in the room and conscious enough to witness what happened next were horrified.

Sora stabbed Vanitas in the abdomen with the remains of his Keyblade.

The eldest Strife howled in pain and clutched around his torso pathetically, trying to lessen the blood flow. Vanitas' screams seemed to awaken the small amount of sanity left in Sora, who saw the damage he'd just caused and was paralyzed.

This gave Yuffie the chance to knock the kid out with a kick to the head.

Riku and Kairi hadn't moved from the window during this whole ordeal. Olette and Selphie tried to help their respective friends to sitting positions. Cloud had fainted from the combination of stress from Sora and the reminder of his dead daughter.

The police and EMTs were baffled at the sight. The news went national.

That night, Sora was placed into the Kingdom City Mental Institution.

* * *

On Sora's eighteenth birthday, he was allowed to have visitors. Only one at a time, and for no more than five minutes at a time per visitor, as the hospital attendants expected there to be several, from the number of phone calls and letters sent to Sora since he'd been admitted.

After that morning meal and group session, Lucrecia Crescent walked Sora back to his bedroom.

"Aren't you curious as to who's coming to see you?" she asked with a smile. When he didn't respond, she added, "Not even a little?"

"Why should I be?" Sora replied in his newfound stoic and monotonous voice, a sign that his medication were agreeing with him today. "Who would want to visit the murderer?"

"Who calls you a murderer?"

"Xion and Naminé do. They said that I killed people, and that's why I'm in here."

Lucrecia knew better than to justify his statement, or question who Xion and Naminé were. "Well, you should tell those two ladies that they're just jealous that they won't have you all to themselves for once," she said. "And I hope they don't plan on interrupting you, because your first visitor is already here."

"Who?"

"Well, go in and see." Lucrecia pushed open the door and nudged Sora inside before entering herself and shutting the door behind them. "You do remember which one of your brothers this is, right?"

"I know it's not Vanitas," Sora said. "After all, he's the reason why they call me a murderer."

"Sora, don't say things like that," Roxas insisted.

"Why not? It's true. Dr. Wise told me that there was too much internal damage, too much blood loss..."

"We're not here to talk about that." Roxas crossed the room and wrapped his arms around his baby brother. "You grew since we last saw each other. We're the same size now."

"Weren't we always?"

"Stop it. Now, let's sit down and catch up." Roxas led Sora to the bed and sat down. The latter mimicked him, just to humor him. "Anyone you want to know about first in particular?"

"Can I guess that the rest of our family isn't here today?" Sora began, still expressionless.

"Don't give them shit for it, either. We all agreed that one of us had to fly out here."

"Fly?" Sora snorted bitterly. "Nami was right. You did leave Destiny Island. You went to Twilight Town, didn't you?"

"No, Sora, we went to New Jersey," Roxas corrected. "And you're in Missouri. There are no islands in Missouri."

"She also called you delusional."

Roxas looked to Lucrecia for help. She gave him a look to remind him not to upset Sora, then gestured to his hand.

"You want to know what Axel and I did last month?" Roxas continued, smiling brightly. He held up his hand. "Now that it's legal in New Jersey, I'm officially Roxas Flynn. He proposed the day it was legalized, the cheesy bastard."

"Xion said you picked up his bad language."

Roxas' eyebrows knit together. "Where do you know that name from?"

"Xion is one of Sora's special girl friends," Lucrecia explained quickly. "You know, like Naminé."

"Zack and Aerith just had a daughter, and they named her Xion," Roxas said quietly. He shook his head. "I can't do this."

"I knew it," Sora said. "And I bet everyone else who came with you isn't going to come in here."

"There are only three of us here: Axel, Riku, and myself," Roxas shot back. "And it was hard enough convincing myself to come, let alone those two." He stood up turned his back on his brother. "I'm sorry, Sora, but this is goodbye."

"Guess I won't tell you how we defeated Master Xehanort," Sora called out as his brother stormed out. "I should've kept you locked away where not even the darkness could find you."

When the door slammed shut, Lucrecia clucked her tongue at Sora. "Must you be so difficult."

Sora shrugged. "He started it."

* * *

Riku had changed over the years. He was taller, thinner, more muscular than Sora remembered. He grew his hair out, tied back into a low ponytail. He was wearing sweats, no longer used to the cooler Missouri air after leaving for sunny Los Angeles after receiving his GED with Kairi. And since when did he have glasses?

For the first time in months, Sora showed emotion. He smiled and ran across the room into Riku's awaiting arms.

"Ri-ku," he purred. "I didn't really think you were here."

"I had to come see you," Riku said into Sora's unruly brown hair. "Like I wasn't ever going to see my best friend again."

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too."

"I still love you."

"I love you, too, buddy."

Sora's eyes darkened at the nickname. "'Buddy'. So Kairi is still in your life?" he spat.

Riku pulled away. "I'm sorry, Sora, but we're still together," he apologized. "I do love her, I truly do. And I plan on marrying her one day."

"So while I'm in here, everyone is getting married to each other? That's perfect." Sora shoved Riku back. "Maybe I'll just marry Xion while I'm at it! Make the playing field more even, yeah?"

"Sora, don't do this, please," Riku pleaded. "I don't want to spend our five minutes fighting."

"Then don't start fights, Ri-ku. It's that simple."

"Fine." Riku sat down on the bed and tried to find a starting point for any conversation. "Did Roxas tell you that he and Ven haven't been close with your parents since they learned everything about their triplet sister? We all have heard a rumor or two that your mom and dad may get divorced."

"Naminé's disappointed in them, I just know it," Sora replied. "Why don't you tell me about Tidus? Or Wakka and Selphie? How are they?"

"I don't know, Sora; they've refused to talk to any of us since..." Riku stared at the white walls. "I wish things didn't turn out the way they did."

"I wish you could see the beauty in the world that I see." Sora moved to sit next to Riku. "As evil as it was, Kingdom Hearts was a truly a sight to behold."

"I'm sure it was, Sora."

Sora's pinky slowly wrapped itself around Riku's. "As selfish as it sounds, I'm glad that the Keyblade chose me over you," he said. "It would've been a waste for someone who could use its powers to have control, you know?"

Riku did respond.

"You're time is almost up," Lucrecia warned.

"Thanks," Riku said. He turned to Sora and kissed the side of his forehead. "Kairi told me to give you that for her. She's too busy at school to visit."

"She's too busy hogging you up," Sora spat.

"Don't insult Kairi. She's still your friend."

"Is she though? Do I still have friends? Are you even my friend anymore, Ri-ku?"

Riku moved his hand away. "I'm ready to leave now," he told Lucrecia.

"I'll walk you to the door and discuss visitation rights with the others," Lucrecia said as she and Riku left. Sora watched them leave without feeling remorseful for what he'd said today.

Just before the door shut all the way, one black boot caught it.

"Hey, Keyblade Master," Xion said, playing with an end of the chain on her black cloak. "How was your powwow?"

"Just as you and Nami guessed it would be," Sora replied with a groan.

"Well, if you want, Nami found a way into the medicine room without any of the nurses or doctors finding us. Wanna partake in a little trip?"

Sora grinned. "Are we finally going to take the second star to Neverland?"

Xion pushed the door open farther. "Just how you want it, buddy."

* * *

"We're not sure when he'll be stable enough to release into the outside world again," Lucrecia told the three men in the waiting room. "Today was one of his good days, but his bad days are life-threatening for him and anyone around him. It's hard to tell where he's going to end up."

"I'd keep him here," Roxas said. "Maybe when one of us is ready, Ventus or I could take him in, or maybe one of our parents."

"Don't volunteer you, because you're volunteering me, too," Axel said.

"Stop being an ass."

"Do you know how long until we should come back?" Riku asked.

"In all honesty, if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't come back," Lucrecia said. At the offended looks (and Axel's mutter of, "No surprise there"), she explained, "It's just that with Sora's fragile condition, it seems that this experiment with visitation rights hasn't been a help at all. He still sees you three, though. Just in his own world, not this one."

One of the other nurses ran to Lucrecia from the patient ward. They whispered something in her ear. Her expression pained.

"In fact," she said quietly to the three men, all of whom knew what she was about to tell them before she finished the sentence, "it seems that you won't have to worry about visiting Sora after today."


End file.
